The Copyright Office published two final rules Friday. One amends the CO’s regulations for handling copyright applications, fee and other material submissions during disruptions or outages of its electronic systems, and the other allows cable operators under Copyright Act Section 111 statutory licenses to electronically sign and submit statements of account for broadcasting retransmissions, the office said in separate Federal Register notices. The outage rule allows the register of copyrights to assign the date of a copyright-related submission's receipt as “the date on which she determines the material would have been received but for the disruption or suspension of the electronic system.” The CO ordinarily views the submission date as the date the submission was made (see 1703020065). The Section 111 rule allows e-signatures on all related forms but gives cable operators the option to continue to use handwritten signatures on paper forms, the CO said.

A Copyright Office NPRM Thursday would amend rules for recording transfers of copyright ownership, notices of copyright termination and other copyright-related documents. The CO said it's part of planned development of a fully electronic recordation system. The CO must “make a number of policy decisions critical to the design of the to-be-developed system,” the office said in the Federal Register: Several of the changes “could be implemented in the near future, without the new system.” The NPRM would in part update document submission rules to allow for e-submission and would lay out the process for an applicant to submit information directly via e-recordation. The CO still would require submission of official documents through the portal but would be able to swiftly index the information via user-submitted data. The office plans closer to the program's launch to evaluate how to structure fees under the e-recordation plan. The CO said it would, as planned, begin “making all documents recorded after the launch of the new arrangement available on the internet, regardless of whether the document was submitted through the new approach or via the paper process.” The office said it “sees no reason why someone should be required to travel to [Washington], or to make an expensive search and retrieval request to view these records.” The CO said it plans to issue a separate NPRM later on making “documents recorded prior to the system's introduction available online.” Comments are due July 17.

Arris filed a Tariff Act Section 337 complaint at the International Trade Commission earlier this month, seeking a ban on imports of Sony consumer electronic devices that allegedly infringe its patents. Sony allegedly is importing patent-infringing TVs, including Android TVs, gaming consoles such as the PlayStation 4, smartphones and tablets, including Sony’s Xperia line, and network-enabled Blu-Ray/DVD players. The ITC seeks comments by May 23, it said in Monday's Federal Register. Sony didn't comment Tuesday.

A coalition of top tech sector stakeholders and a separate coalition of library and public interest groups are urging the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to either rehear Mavrix Photographs v. LiveJournal or set an en banc hearing. A three-judge 9th Circuit panel ruled last month against LiveJournal, saying moderators of the website's “Oh No They Didn’t!” gossip blog can be considered to have enough knowledge of copyright infringement contained in blog posts to undermine Digital Millennium Copyright Act Section 512 safe harbors (see 1704100040). Facebook, Google, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, the Internet Association and other tech interests jointly urged 9th Circuit reconsideration of Mavrix, arguing in an amicus brief that the panel's ruling deviated from Section 512's language and legislative history. The original ruling, if allowed to stand, would “make it more difficult for LiveJournal (and other service providers) to ensure that their operations are protected” under Section 512, the tech entities said. “The panel’s decision threatens to expose online services to a possible loss of DMCA protection simply because they make efforts to screen content that users submit for posting. If the panel intended that result, its decision is profoundly mistaken, and it will harm not just service providers and their users, but copyright owners as well.” The ruling “runs directly contrary” to Congress' intent in enacting Section 512 “by penalizing service providers who use moderators,” said (in Pacer) the American Library Association, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Public Knowledge and others. “The possibility that an online platform might lose its DMCA safe harbor by virtue of moderating its service obviously would strongly discourage the platform from doing so. That, in turn, would upend the actual practices of scores of platforms and services who have responded to Congress’s clear signal that they would not be penalized for using moderators.”

SoundExchange said it bought music licensing collective Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency. The groups “will integrate and streamline the administration and distribution” of sound recording and music publishing royalties and “continue to work independently and serve their current customers while also exploring collaborative opportunities such as sharing core services,” SoundExchange said in a Monday news release. “The acquisition of CMRRA helps us increase efficiencies while also extending service to the publishing sector,” said SoundExchange CEO Michael Huppe.

Samsung, Intel and others filed in support of the FTC’s complaint against Qualcomm alleging the smartphone chip manufacturer had a monopoly in baseband processors used in cellphones and other devices (see 1701170065 and 1704040040). The entities Friday filed proposed amicus briefs in support of the FTC’s opposition to Qualcomm’s April motion to dismiss the complaint (see 1704040037). Qualcomm’s licensing practices are “exclusionary,” Samsung said (in Pacer). “Despite having requested a license from Qualcomm, Samsung cannot sell licensed Exynos chipsets to non-Samsung entities because Qualcomm has refused to license Samsung to make and sell licensed chipsets.” Qualcomm has “inflicted and continues to inflict precisely the harms that the antitrust laws seek to protect against,” Intel said (in Pacer). ACT│The App Association said it believes standard essential patent “abuses” of the type the FTC has claimed limit its members’ “ability to obtain fully licensed standardized components, or that and usurp value or technology that our members’ have themselves created.” The FTC’s complaint outlines behavior that if allowed to continue “would grievously harm industry and consumer interests in adapting current industries -- and building new industries -- that utilize technologies associated with 5G and IoT,” ACT wrote (in Pacer). “Such behaviors stunt businesses that rely on -- or will soon rely on -- an efficient, fair and balanced approach to licensing of wireless communication standards.” Dismissal of the FTC’s complaint “not only would prevent the FTC from addressing a serious anticompetitive problem in the mobile cellular industry, but would undermine the enforcement of the antitrust laws in other industries that are dependent on standard setting and throughout the economy,” the American Antitrust Institute said (in Pacer).

The Copyright Office released an updated version Wednesday of its online system for designating and searching for agents to receive copyright infringement claim notifications under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The CO finished developing the system last year and officially deployed it in December. Online service providers that previously had designated agents with the CO will have until the end of this year to submit a new designation electronically via the online system (see 1610310050). The new version updates the user account registration process to “make it simpler and easier to complete,” said a news release. The office published in Wednesday's Federal Register a technical change to the rules governing the system to reflect the update.

The Copyright Office said Tuesday it's launching a pilot program that will allow parties to make bulk submissions of copyright applications for some literary works. The pilot will allow participating applicants to “bypass” the CO online interface and transmit claims directly into the e-registration system instead of filing them individually, the office said in a Federal Register notice. But participating copyright applicants still will need to provide the author, title and other information on each submitted work, upload a copy of the work and pay appropriate fees, the CO said. The pilot is a “first step” in implementing a 2015 CO recommendation that the office implement a “new and dedicated enterprise copyright system” (see 1502190039), the office said. The pilot will allow bulk submissions only for “single literary works that have a single author, where all content that appears in the work was created and is owned solely by that single author,” it said. Participating applicants also will need to comply with technical requirements, including cooperating with staff as they create separate e-registration portals for each applicant, the office said.

RIAA, the Recording Academy, SoundExchange and other musicFIRST Coalition members jointly urged the House and Senate Judiciary committees to prioritize music licensing issues as the committees move forward on copyright law revamp legislation. House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., repeatedly signaled this year he's very interested in pursuing music licensing legislation, while noting lack of consensus (see 1702010069, 1703030059 and 1705020057). The musicFIRST members pointed to the Fair Play Fair Pay Act (HR-1836) as legislation they “stand united behind.” The bill, reintroduced in March, would require most terrestrial radio stations to begin paying performance royalties. HR-1836 and previous legislation to enact a terrestrial performance right have been lightning rods for broadcaster criticism and are seen as among the most controversial music licensing proposals under consideration (see 1702020064 and 1703030059). “There is clear momentum for reaching a solution to the inequities that exist today by establishing a right to compensation for all music creators and technology-neutral rules for music services,” the musicFIRST members said in a Thursday letter. “The U.S. stands alongside just few other countries, including China, Iran and North Korea, in not recognizing a performance right for music creators."

Applebee’s produced and ran TV commercials containing “substantial portions” of the "iconic" AC/DC recording "Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution" without getting a license or paying $325,000 in agreed-upon copyright fees, Sony Music alleged in a breach of contract and copyright infringement complaint (in Pacer) filed Friday against the restaurant chain. Applebee’s ran the commercials to trumpet the chain’s “transformation” through the addition of new menu items at its 2,000 U.S. restaurants, said the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. Despite Applebee’s use of the recordings to its “great profit,” the written licenses provided by Sony Music “have never been signed and returned to Sony Music and neither the agreed payments nor any portion thereof have ever been paid to Sony Music,” said the complaint. Applebee’s claim that the fees were properly paid to a “music clearance” company, Music Dealers, that acted as Sony Music’s agent but since went out of business is “pure fiction,” said the complaint. Applebee’s representatives didn’t comment Monday.